I was doing the Rae Lakes loop and decided in addition to climb some mountain. This one was the highest in the region according to the map, so I picked it. Starting from the bridge between Rae Lakes I ascended some chute and got on top of the ridge, which joins Diamond Peak and Black mountain. It turned out that I aimed at a false 13,000 feet summit. However from there I could easily see the Black mountain and reached it by following the ridge. I descended another chute to Dragon lake and went for a swim.

got a little off route on Black and encountered some sketchy 5th class, got my boot stuck on one step around section with not so pleasant exposure, and found impressively large and intact icicles dangling from some rocks. We were front pointing a near vertical drop down a snow chute on the way down.

The loose rocks coming down Mary Austin were awful. Straightforward other than that, and the glissade back to Little Onion Valley was awesome. Someone had apparently stolen the old register a few years ago.

24 hour door-to-door hikes of Black Mtn and Diamond Pk. The traverse took 3hrs plus and there were a heck of a lot more gendarmes than I originally thought. Descended directly from the top of the peak into the basin and back to the trail. Pictures

Climbed up the north slope after decending to the bowl from Diamond. Missed out on all the talus and had close to 2,000 ft of crusty snow that was perfect for cramponing, only got steep on the last bit before the summit.

did a low traverse from Diamond and went (mostly) straight up the N. Couloir. Had to dogleg left then right to go around slippery looking rock. Last 100' was getting close to 45deg w/ a couple of icy spots.

Once at the top it took me 10minutes to chop the register out of the block of ice it was encased in. Last entry before ours was Aug 2003; register dated back to 1950's. Very cool to see. Great peak, great views, fun stuff. Recommended!

Took off from camp at 10K for Mary Austin, then traversed over Peak 3969m, and up the Northeast Ridge of Black Mountain. Weather did not cooperate, though the snow flurries and thunderstorms stayed away long enough for me to summit two of the three peaks on the days list. Due to the snowy conditions the Northeast Ridge turned into more of a class 3/4 climb, than a class 2. Great climb on a seldom visited peak.

"As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life - so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls."
--M. Cartmill